


Erejean Week 2016

by absolutebeginner



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Era, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-05-30 03:29:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6406849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/absolutebeginner/pseuds/absolutebeginner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean learns about ecliptic and constellations. He also discovers that being alike someone is not the end of the World.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1: Aries

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! this is my collaboration for Jeaneren week 2016. I probably won't do all the prompts, but I'll try my best to follow this story throughout the week.  
> English is not my first language so if you find something incoherent please let me know and I'll thank you forever. Enjoy!

After the events on their failed exercise through the wasteland the trainees had been provided with a couple days off to regain energies and shake bad spirits off. During the first day Armin decided to make the most of his time and hit the library to catch up with some books he'd spotted on previous days. That's how Jean had found him after being asked by Mikasa if he'd seen the boy, and of course he wouldn't let the chance to help her go to waste.

Armin was hunched over a dusty brown book with beautiful drawings and patterns. Jean approached the boy and amazed by the pictures he bluntly asked "what's that?"

Armin who hadn't felt anybody coming to him, absorbed as he was with the book, jumped startled by Jean's loud voice but once he realized who he was he regarded him with a polite smile "it's a book about astronomy. It studies the stars and other celestial bodies"

"The stars? Like in the sky? They don't look like this" he retorted sitting -uninvited- in front of Armin across the library's table "I've never seen the stars looking like this pictures" added pointing at a pattern of white dots that formed a woman with long hair -Andromeda, said the caption.

Armin replied "well no, because that's just how people imagined what they look like to recognize them. They called them constellations, and they used them to navigate the seas and travel, pretty much like we do, but the oceans are so big that they could easily get lost if they didn’t know this stuff. Also, they'd imagined stories and characters linked to the constellations, and look!" Added enthusiastically turning to a different page "there're parts of the world with completely different patterns of stars that we cannot see here because of the position of the Earth"

"Oh... There are so many" mumbled Jean in awe. Then he turned the page and saw a circle with a bunch of animals and people around something that he assumed was the sun "what's this? Zodiac? What is it?"

Armin snatched the book from Jean's grasp and explained "the Zodiac is a group of twelve constellations through which the ecliptic passes... The ecliptic it says here is the apparent path of the Sun. Since the Earth moves around the Sun it looks to us like the Sun is the one moving and along the year it completes the whole cycle of the Zodiac."  
"Wow... What did they use this zodiac thing for?"

"Well, to measure time, you know we inherited the same calendar? Actually some people believed that your zodiacal sign determined treats of your personality and your good or bad fortune"

"Really? But like, then you should be a lot like the people that were born under the same constellation"

"Yeah, well... Those were just superstitions to have a sense of control over their destinies"

"Well, my destiny is joining the Military Police and have a good life" Jean said grinning confident.

"You seem pretty determined, huh?" Armin asked, amused.

"Of course. That's my goal in life. Tell me what's my sign?"

"Um, let’s see...” Armin studied the text of the book where the information about the zodiacal calendar was displayed “When's your birthday?"

"April 7th"

"Then you are... Aries... That's a sheep... Huh" Armin regarded again the rank of dates and then snorted.

"What? What's so funny?" asked Jean alarmed.

"Your zodiacal sign is the same as Eren" Armin explained between giggles.

Jean scrunched his nose in disgust and groaned "ugh, you see Armin? How can we possibly be alike? That hotheaded bastard is my complete and absolute opposite!"

"I don't know Jean. You just sounded like him a moment ago, but instead of titans and the Survey Corps you were talking about joining the Military Police."

"Shut up..." He muttered while blushing furiously "it's not the same…"

"It so is, Jean" Armin replied still snickering.

"Anyway," Jean said loudly "Mikasa was looking for you. She was by the mess hall" and with that he stomped out of the library. He still could hear Armin's laugh, though barely, until he got outside of the building "it's not that funny" he muttered.

Jean spent the rest of his day off with Marco napping under a tree's shadow and avoiding Connie and Sasha who were particularly energetic that day, but his mind was constantly filled with images of Eren looking for evidence that they were not alike. He'd asked Marco and after humming lazily he concluded as well "you both are pretty alike." Jean scoffed and rambled about how they were completely different but Marco interrupted him by saying that he had promised to help the kitchen and that he had to go. Of course he would volunteer for a chore on his day off deadpanned Jean, and when Marco was out of his sight he stood up and wandered slowly thinking about Eren and their damn shared zodiacal sign.

It was no surprise when he found the object of his tormented reflections in the sparring arena with Mikasa by his side, as always. Upon approaching them he could hear snippets of their conversation. Apparently Mikasa had had enough practice but Eren was stubborn enough to keep going, and of course those two were training on their day off as well. He jumped the fence and both siblings spotted him warily stopping their discussion.

"I can train with Jaeger if you want to go, Mikasa" Jean said as a justification of his presence there.

The girl regarded him for a second and putting a hand on his shoulder she replied "Thanks Jean. See you later Eren, try not to kill each other" and then she walked away.

"Hey, I didn't agree to this!" Eren yelled, but Mikasa didn't turn around. Jean sighed to himself defeated "I would've said the same..."

"What do you want Horseface?"

Jean furrowed his brows and adopting a fighting stance he retorted "I'm not here to argue."

Eren grinned and graciously mirrored Jean's position. For a brief second Jean thought that it looked a lot like he had accepted an invitation to dance and his cheeks turned pink at the image of them dancing together. The thought disappeared when Eren blew the first hit.

They sparred for a while with a consistent victory for Eren with the occasional triumph of Jean, but at the last round both of them were pretty even as they had gotten used to the other's fight style. Eren paused and said "I think it's enough for today."

"No way, Eren! You're stopping because I was about to win!"

"What the fuck are you saying!? You so were not!” he actually was, “Besides, it's getting dark you dumbass!" Jean blinked slowly and tipped his head back looking at the darkening sky where some stars had started to appear. The sight made him think about the zodiacal sign again. Aries, Armin had said. Jean sat gracelessly on the dusty floor keeping his eyes glued to the bright spots in the sky. He wondered if Eren knew his sign was Aries and if it meant something for him if he did. He felt his companion drop by his side and out of the corner of his eye he saw that he was looking at the sky as well.

They stayed there in silence for a couple of minutes until Jean asked in a murmur "hey Eren, do you think we are somewhat alike?"

"You and me?" was Eren's soft answer.

"Yeah, you and me..." Jean muttered savoring the words and deciding that it sounded kind of intimate and that scared him a little but the feeling lasted just a second because Eren exclaimed "of course we're not! You're a selfish bastard and you have that ugly horse face"

To Eren's surprise, instead of a heated retort, Jean snickered softly and staring at him with a fond look said "yeah, we really are not alike at all." He then stood up and walked to the mess hall to have dinner. Eren followed him still bewildered by Jean's odd behavior.

The truth is Jean was not at all surprised that the only person who would agree with him was Eren. He waited for Eren to catch up with him and thought about how in sync they were while fighting the thieves the day before. It wasn't that bad, he thought ‘if we can work together’ and the notion of 'them' made something flutter in his chest but the scary feeling immediately disappeared with Eren's punch on his arm that he of course reciprocated. They kept bickering until they reached the mess hall and each joined their respective group of friends but over the rest of the night they kept glancing at each other in wonderment.


	2. Day 3: Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean was music that vibrated undamped with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is obviously eons late but I didn't want to leave it unfinished, so I'll post two more chapters (based on the prompts of the Erejean week that happened like decades ago, but anyway...) to give this story some kind of closure. I had a vague idea about how I wanted it to be developed but I just could write the first chapter because life keeps happening. I hope you enjoy this, I know it's not the best but hopefully I'll get better at writing someday. Thanks a lot!

Their second day off the trainees spent their time pretty much the same as the first one, with the difference that one after one all of them were called by instructor Keith Shadis accompanied by some members of the branch of investigation of the Military Police in order to be interrogated about the incident with the gang of thieves they had encountered. The Military Police had wanted to disassemble the whole organization since months ago and now they were pretty sure they could do it with the help of the trainees’ testimonies.

In exchange the Military Police sponsored a feast that night. Of course everybody was in their best spirits to have a proper and abundant meal that included different types of bread, jam, fresh vegetables and preserved meat. They also paid for a music band pretty famous in wall Sina that would arrive later that night but first they were lining up to get their fancy dinner.

The arrangement of sits were similar to every other night but the members of the Military Police had suggested to open some place in the middle of the mess hall to dance when the musicians arrived, so the tables were cramped against the walls.

Sasha was bouncing and vibrating in excitement asking to anybody that got closer enough if she could have a share of their food. So far only Marco and Krista had agreed with sharing a piece of bread with a slice of ham and some crackers with marmalade, but it was clear that the young soldiers were trying to enjoy the pleasures of their meal as much as they could. Mikasa looked like she was going to give her something but changed her mind in the last second, much to Sasha’s chagrin. Armin had laughed apologetically but didn’t offer a share either. Eren just plain ignored her not out of rudeness but because he seemed pretty gloomy all of the sudden.

The reason he looked more thoughtful than normal was that he had attempted to get Jean to practice sparring with him again but every time he approached the other boy they got interrupted either by Shadis calling them for interrogation, or they would engage in some argument about the usefulness of training during days off, or Marco would intervene because he had volunteered Jean to cleaning duty much to the boy's dismay. The bottom line is that Eren couldn't have a sparring partner because Mikasa refused to 'hurt' him and Annie was much more unapproachable than other days, and Jean, well... he couldn't get the boy to train with him.

Their day before session had stirred something inside Eren. Sure, Jean didn't have as good technique as Annie, neither Mikasa's strength, but there was something instinctive and primal in the way they would move together. It was pure harmony, and he could easily hear the consonance of their bodies colliding or dodging one another as if they were performing an ancestral dance. And then there was that question and that smile, and the reverent way he'd said 'you and me.' Eren was almost drawn to say that they actually were alike, because that would explain his obsession with convincing Jean he was wrong about joining the Military Police.

After catching Eren glancing towards Jean's and Marco's table Armin decided to finally ask "It's something the matter, Eren? You've been surprisingly quiet all night and all skittish. This is a party, you know? You should be having fun” Eren just shrugged trying to look nonchalant but Armin wasn’t buying it. He asked again “Is it about the thieves?" Eren looked like he didn’t even remember a thing from two days before by the blank stare he regarded Armin.

Mikasa who hadn’t noticed his unusual behavior asked as well “Are you feeling sick Eren? Maybe you ate too much or not enough meat. Do you want to go lay down? Should I ask instructor Shadis to let you go?”

“Stop it already! I’m perfectly fine you guys!” but his friends kept going with questions about Eren’s demeanor.

Finally, the musicians arrived, giving Eren a little break from Armin and Mikasa’s bugging, settling an improvised scenario while the trainees were handed desert, and then the dance started. At first everybody was too shy to invite someone else to dance but after Ymir boisterously took Krista to the center of hall some other couples joined as well. There were Franz and Hanna, Sasha and Connie, Reiner had tried to convince Annie but to no use, Mina had taken Tomas, and Marco dragged Jean to join the dance floor who reluctantly tripping over his long legs followed him. After a couple of steps he had gotten the hang of the dance and moved gracefully to the beat of the music.

A different song started and the dancers switched partners except Krista and Ymir who approached their table. "Let's dance Armin! Come on!" Armin completely red stuttered something about not knowing how to dance but he was interrupted by Ymir bellowing "you'd better not reject my dear Krista because you're the only guy I'm letting her dance with tonight!" Krista slapped Ymir’s arm while calling her rude and Armin turned a deeper shade of red, but he took Krista's hand to be led to the dance floor. Ymir directed her attention to Mikasa and said "let's go Ackerman." Mikasa reluctantly followed her and Eren stayed alone. He didn't care though. He wasn't much of a fan for dancing. He'd rather enjoy watching his peers having fun.

He noticed then that Jean, Marco, Sasha and Connie were dancing together, Jean particularly cranky about Connie's lack of technique. Sasha and Marco snickering about the seriousness Jean seemed to have about the whole dancing thing.

Then the song finally came to its end and a round of cheers and applauses rewarded the musicians. The lead of the band thanked the applauses and then said "before we continue with the dance we'd like to perform a traditional song from the inside of the Walls, so if you have a suggestion we'd love to hear it" "Trost!" Someone yelled -probably Samuel- and some other cheered. Trost was famous for their carnivals, music and dance styles, and Eren suddenly realized why Jean seemed so annoyed by people not being able to dance.  
The lead musician was talking again "Ah, Trost... we need someone who knows the local style of singing, though" a ruckus coming from Thomas table captured Eren’s attention. Apparently they were trying to get Thomas to sing and he was resisting. As soon as he was shoved to the front of the improvised scenario he apologized and explained that he couldn't sing at all. Laughter filled the mess hall and Thomas embarrassed returned to his table glaring at his friends.

"Jean, you do it!" spoke Marco much to his friend's horror who spluttered an intelligible answer. Then Sasha sprung from her sit (she actually was sitting on the table instead of the bench) exclaiming "yes! Jean sings really pretty!" All the trainees joined the cheering and Eren wondered when they had heard him singing.

Jean had a look of absolute fear in his face, a violent blush covered his cheeks and his eyes reflecting betrayal wandered over the blaring crowd. Suddenly his eyes landed on Mikasa and he averted his gaze. Then timidly he looked direct on Eren's eyes and he took a small step up front. Everybody cheered and clapped once again and the lead musician asked for silence and beckoned Jean to come closer to the group. They talked for a couple of seconds probably deciding a song and setting the tune, the tonality or some other musical stuff he had no idea about. Finally Jean faced the audience still pretty red in embarrassment but there was a glint of determination in his eyes.

The song, a virelai, opened with an instrumental introduction and after a few bars the first verse started. Jean sung the beginning almost mumbling the words but soon he gained some confidence and the rich tones of the music came to life. His voice didn't seem particularly trained but it sounded perfectly in tune and was obvious that he'd learned the Trostian style most likely performing among family and friends, with all the ornaments and timbre’s change.

When the song reached its end, the crowd of trainees cheered and applauded Jean's performance who once again appeared shy and embarrassed, and clumsily managed a curt bow before hurrying to his table. There he was received between Marco's open arms who complimented his singing skills gleefully and Connie, Sasha, Reiner, Thomas, Samuel, Mina and some others crowded him to congratulate him, but when the music resumed everybody joined the dance.

Marco let go of Jean to dance with Mina who had dragged Annie by some kind of miracle and Eren noticed Jean coming to his table where he and Mikasa had stayed by themselves, since Krista hadn't let go of Armin.

Jean looked bashful and shy and when he reached their table he addressed Mikasa "h-hey Mikasa..."

"Hi Jean. Lovely performance."

"Thank you!" he said with a darker blush and a hopeful tone in his voice. Then he added "uh, did you um... D-do you wanna dance with me?" The girl assessed him with half lidded eyes for a little too long without giving him an answer and Jean started squirming uncomfortable, so Eren sighed loudly and said "I'll dance with you." Jean locked eyes with him and opened his mouth to say something but instead he sighed as well and extended his hand to take Eren's.

They both headed to the dance floor and Jean threw an apologetic glance towards Mikasa who didn't say anything neither she showed any particular emotion. They joined the group of teens falling into the rhythm of the music.

"You're fun to hang out with when you're no screaming nonsenses" said Eren but almost instantly regretted, afraid of ruining the peaceful mood.

"I could say the same to you asshole" Jean replied angrily slapping Eren's shoulder where his hand was resting.

When the impact made him almost lose his balance Eren whisper-yelled "Watch out you dumbass. You don't want to start a fight right here, do you?" Jean only sneered at him and grabbed him tighter. Eren ducked his head feeling his cheeks heating up and getting mad at himself for it.

Jean spoke then "you're not a bad dancer but you lack of technique."

"I could say the same to you about fighting" he retorted, and Eren was once again reminded of their sparring session and how that had resembled a dance as well. Jean was music that vibrated undamped with him. His track of thought was interrupted by Jean's loud voice "You're just asking for it, Jaeger..."

He didn't feel like keep the argument going so he decided to say instead "You sang really nice by the way..." Jean's face lit up for a fleet moment and then flushed averting Eren's eyes and muttered "Um… thank you." They kept dancing together the rest of the night. Oddly enough nobody interrupted, and if anybody noticed how they kept holding each other between songs, no one commented either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr is absolutebeginnerthings.tumblr.com
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr account is [absolutebeginnerthings](absolutebeginnerthings.tumblr.com)


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